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Things aren’t looking good in Japan. The weather is acting strangely, volcanoes that don’t normally erupt are erupting, and… oh yes… the giant monster Mono is running amuck and gobbling up the human population. What a nuisance!

Fortunately, disgraced Doctor Totaro Saigo thinks he has the solution: a special formula that can be injected into a normal human, causing the injectee to grow into a colossus of Tokyo-skyscraper-stomping proportions! With any luck, that means the good doctor’s lab assistant Nitto will be able to take on Mono, hand to claw, in “mano a Mono” combat!

Yes, the plan is every bit as insane as it sounds, and the logic of the plot will be stretched as thin as the fabric of Nitto’s ultra-stretchy briefs when the ultimate human vs. monster wrestling match erupts in KAIJU MONO!Continued…

Celebrate the 25-year-old global pop-culture phenomenon and morph into action with POWER RANGERS NINJA STEEL: THE COMPLETE SEASON, arriving on DVD and Digital August 14 from Lionsgate.

The 3-DVD set will include a printed excerpt from Boom! Studios’ 25th-Anniversary Artist Tribute Book, and will feature all-new box art exclusive to the home entertainment release by illustrator and comic artist George Caltsoudas (TV’s BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and the graphic novel Star Trek: Boldly Go). The POWER RANGERS NINJA STEEL: THE COMPLETE SEASON DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.Continued…

Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its November slate of releases which includes Sentai Kids’ world favorite fairy tale fantasy, HELLO KITTY AND FRIENDS ~ LET’S LEARN TOGETHER, available on DVD with special pop in play feature!

Also scheduled for November are PATLABOR THE MOBILE POLICE COMPLETE COLLECTION, UQ HOLDER!, GATCHAMAN CROWDS SEASONS 1 & 2 COMPLETE COLLECTION and NEGIMA!? COMPLETE COLLECTION on Blu-ray; a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack of LOVE, CHUNIBYO & OTHER DELUTIONS! TAKE ON ME; plus a Premium Box Set of K-ON! THE COMPLETE COLLECTION.Continued…

Kraken Releasing and Section23 Films are offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win their new Blu-ray of GARO: MAKAI SENKI COLLECTION 1!

In the war against the nightmarish creatures known as Horrors, Mankind’s most formidable line of defense has always been the power of the Makai Knights. But now, one by one, the Knights are being mystically marked for death by a mysterious magic user in a crimson mask. Even Kouga, the bearer of the golden GARO wolf armor, is among the afflicted, with the accursed mark slowly draining his strength, and making the use of his armor incredibly painful.

Who is the Red Mask and how has he (or she) been able to target the Knights so effectively? All signs point to a betrayal from within their own ranks and now it’s up to Kouga, Rei, and the other Knights to track down their enemy while they’re still strong enough to defeat him in GARO: MAKAI SENKI, the second season of Keita Amemiya’s GARO franchise.Continued…

VIZ Media, LLC, a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, expands its catalog with the acquisition of Season 1 of CASTLEVANIA.

VIZ Media announced the acquisition of CASTLEVANIA during its official panel held this past weekend at Comic-Con International, one of the nation’s biggest annual pop culture conventions. VIZ Media has acquired home media distribution rights to the American anime-influenced series, which is produced by Frederator Studios. CASTLEVANIA Season 1 has streamed to wide acclaim on Netflix.

Inspired by the classic video game series, CASTLEVANIA is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepes himself. In Season 1, Trevor Belmont, embittered and excommunicated, finds himself drawn into a battle for the survival of Europe – a region that has brought doom upon itself by taking away the one thing its greatest monster loved.Continued…

SciFi Japan has updated our list of English and Japanese titles for live action and animated movies, television programs and home videos produced and/or released by Toei Co., Ltd. (東映株式会社). Several older titles have been added, as well as new Toei releases into late 2018.

Rather than relying on any of the many unofficial fan translations, this list features the official English titles created and used by Toei. Information has been culled from multiple sources, including materials from Toei’s International Sales & Promotion Department and Ishimori Production, US copyright registrations, Toei sales catalogs and publicity materials, Toei screenings at film festivals and trade shows, and organizations such as the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (of which Toei is a founding member) and UniJapan.Continued…

Provocative cult hit MIND GAME (マインド・ゲーム, Maindo Geemu, 2004) from anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa (DEVILMAN Crybaby) will be released in a Blu-ray + DVD combo on August 28, 2018 by GKIDS and Shout! Factory, with bonus features including director’s commentary and a feature-length film animatic.

Yuasa’s first feature film MIND GAME is a boundary-pushing tale that embodies the 1960s and 70s acid animation. The rarely seen film comes to the US for the first time with this release.

Buckle in and prepare to surrender yourself to an exhilarating and wildly entertaining ride in this gloriously colorful and unconstrained cult classic.Continued…

Rapidly paced, darkly funny, and extremely stylish, DETECTIVE BUREAU 2-3: GO TO HELL BASTARDS! is unlike anything seen before and rightly deserves its cult status. Suzuki’s send up of post-war greed would go on to cement his domestic and international status as one of the leading directors to come out of Japan.Continued…

Sentai Filmworks announced that it acquired the distribution rights to the Summer 2018 comedy, MR. TONEGAWA MIDDLE MANAGEMENT BLUES (中間管理録 トネガワ, Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa). This spinoff series from the award-winning world of KAIJI, will be available for USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland and other select territories.

President Hyodo is tired of dealing with debtors, so he orders mid-level manager, Yukio Tonegawa, to form a group of men and devise a series of sadistic games, called the Game of Death, to collect what is owed to him. Initially, Tonegawa and his black-suited men, known as Team Tonegawa, are hesitant to participate but quickly discover that their new line of work is more enjoyable than they originally thought.Continued…

Sentai Filmworks announced that has acquired the exclusive distribution rights to REVUE STARLIGHT (少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト, Shojo ☆ Kageki Revuyuu Sutaaraito), produced by Kinema Citrus (MADE IN ABYSS), for USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands as well as Latin American countries and other select territories.Continued…

Sentai Filmworks announced that it acquired all distribution rights for the second season of REAL GIRL (3D彼女, 3D Kanojo, 2018), the popular coming-of-age series lauded for its refreshing take on young love, acceptance and self-discovery. The second season is expected to debut during the 2019 Winter Simulcast season. Sentai will make the series available to USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland and other select territories.

Follow the popular Iroha Igarashi and reclusive Hikari Tsutsui, as they continue to navigate the tumultuous waters of young love and what it means to be true to yourself. As their relationship grows and deepens, new and difficult challenges threaten to break them apart. While they are committed to overcoming everything that comes their way as a couple, will some things be too much for them to conquer?Continued…

Sentai Filmworks has announced that it acquired exclusive distribution rights to 100 SLEEPING PRINCES & THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS (夢王国と眠れる100人の王子様, Yume Okoku to Nemureru 100-Nin no Oji-sama, 2018), a Summer 2018 Simulcast season title, based off the popular mobile game of the same name.

Enter the mysterious Dream World, where a newly-crowned royal soon learns of an insatiable evil, the yumekui, feeding upon the energy and dreams of sleeping princes who are then unable to awaken. The brave monarch must save them and their world from the dream eater!Continued…

Sentai Filmworks announced today that it acquired all distribution rights for the action-filled title, THE THOUSAND MUSKETEERS, (千銃士 Senjuushi, 2018), for the Summer 2018 Simulcast season for the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Ireland, South America and other select territories.

THE THOUSAND MUSKETEERS TV series follows the struggle of a ragtag resistance effort battling against the World Empire, a tyrannical regime intent on oppressing lives and suppressing liberty. Although modern weapons are forbidden, the resistance fighters repurpose antique weapons that had been regarded as works of art, not deadly arms. But the balance of power changes as these relics of ancient wars respond to the plight of the resistance and come to life as noble musketeers who take up the weapons they were born from and fight to bring a sliver of hope back to the world!Continued…

Anime Series Arrives This Summer As A Limited Edition Blu-ray Set
Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases
Special Thanks to Elizabeth Ellis and Erik Jansen

VIZ Media, LLC, a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, delivers Season 2 of the action-driven, multigenerational anime series with the home media release of JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE SET 2: STARDUST CRUSADERS on July 3rd.Continued…

MADE IN ABYSS Available October 23rd
Source: Section23 Films press release
Special Thanks to Mike Bailiff

Home video distributor Section23 Films today announced its October slate of releases which includes Sentai Filmworks fantasy-adventure, MADE IN ABYSS, available on Blu-ray and in a special Limited Edition Premium Box Set!

Well Go USA Entertainment is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win a Blu-ray of the South Korean horror-thriller THE MIMIC (장산범, Jangsanbeom, 2017), based on the mythological tale “Tiger of Mt. Jang,” where a legendary ghost that mimics humans. A woman takes in a lost girl she finds near the mysterious Mt. Jang and mystifying things begin to happen to her frightened family.

Following the acclaim for his first feature film HIDE AND SEEK, writer/director Huh Jung returns to the genre that made him famous. THE MIMIC stars Yum Jung-Ah (TELL ME SOMETHING), Park Hyuk-Kwon (A TAXI DRIVER), Shin Rin-Ah (ODE TO MY FATHER), Heo Jin (THE WAILING), Kil Hae-Yeon (MISSING) and Lee Yool (HELLO MURDERER).Continued…

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance to win a Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Combo Pack of PACIFIC RIM UPRISING. Set ten years after the events of PACIFIC RIM, the Kaiju return with a new deadly threat that reignites the conflict between these otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and Jaegers, the human-piloted super-machines that were built to vanquish them.Continued…

The explosive, ground-breaking anime feature film will be available in highly collectible packaging on October 30
Source: Mill Creek Entertainment press release

Mill Creek Entertainment, the leader in value home entertainment, is excited to announce the upcoming release of the 2001 anime film OSAMU TEZUKA’S METROPOLIS (メトロポリス, Metoroporisu) as a SteelBook Blu-ray + DVD combo on October 30, 2018. This spectacular film in its all-new collectible packaging will be available for $34.98 SRP.Continued…

On September 25, 2018, Shout! Factory will release SUPER SENTAI: CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN: The Complete Series, a fan-favorite installment of the original Japanese series that inspired the iconic Power Rangers franchise! Available for the first time on DVD, the 8-DVD set is presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

The hugely popular season CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN (鳥人戦隊ジェットマン, Choojin Sentai Jettoman, 1991-1992) is the last Sentai season released that was not adapted for Power Rangers and the first pre-ZYURANGER release for Shout! Factory. The long-awaited series is now available for the first time in North America and full of adventure with 51 episodes.Continued…

Also included is an exclusive framing sequence adventure starring Ultraman Rosso and Ultraman Blu — the brother heroes of ULTRAMAN R/B — and Ultraman Zero (Character Voice: Mamoru Miyano), one of the most popular Ultramen in the series.Continued…

GKIDS and Shout! Factory present the charming fantasy/science fiction romance SATELLITE GIRL AND MILK COW (우리별 일호와 얼룩소, Uribyeol Ilho-wa Eollugso, 2014) on Blu-ray/DVD on June 5, 2018. Bonus features include the short film COFFEE VENDING MACHINE AND ITS SWORD and trailers.

The debut feature-length film from Korean director Chang Hyung-yun, acclaimed creator of animated short films that have premiered and won prizes at festivals worldwide, the highly original SATELLITE GIRL AND MILK COW was produced by Cho Young-kag (THE FAKE, THE KING OF PIGS), and received an Asia Pacific Screen Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.Continued…

UK distributor Third Window Films brings the erotic fantasy SUFFERING OF NINKO (仁光の受難, Ninko no Junan, 2016) to Blu-ray on July 23.

Young monk Ninko leads an ascetic existence in the Enmeiji temple, but his dedication to a life of simplicity and sexual abstinence is made impossible by the curse that seems to afflict him: he is irresistible to every woman (and some of the men) he meets. Pursued by a posse of half-naked, crazed women and a mysterious, faceless nymph, he flees high into the mountains, where he can finally discover his true nature.

With SUFFERING OF NINKO, debut director Norihiro Iwatsukino adds a modern, headstrong chapter to the rich tradition of Japanese ghost stories. His background as a designer is revealed in the wonderful animated variations on classic Japanese woodcuts, Buddhist mandalas and erotic prints, which together with sensual dance scenes, witty intermezzos and macabre appearances by spirits form an exciting, highly individual indictment of sexual repression.Continued…

Tsuburaya Productions has announced the anime film ULTRAMAN USA (ウルトラマンUSA, Urutoraman USA), a co-production with the American studio Hanna-Barbera, will be released on Blu-ray in Japan on September 26. The disc will also include the English language version, ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS.

Looking to reintroduce Ultraman to the American market, Tsuburaya saw ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS as a way to appeal to the growing interest in anime in the US. While Hanna-Barbera was the American producer and distributor, the animation was produced in Japan by Studio Sign and Ashi Productions (now known as Production Reed).Continued…